By ADD SEYMOUR JR.
Before the 2017 season started, Bowie State football coach Damon Wilson said his team wanted to win a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association title that eluded them last season and a national championship.
They must get through their nemesis, Winston-Salem State first.
The Bulldogs get their first chance at the Rams, who beat them in the CIAA championship last season, today when they visit WSSU in a huge conference game.
WSSU and Bowie State are two of the top three teams in the latest ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT HBCU Football Division II poll and each won easily won last week.
But if Bowie State sees this as a big game, they aren't showing it. They are taking a business-like approach to this huge clash.
"We're just looking at this game as the next game on the schedule," said cornerback Rahman Kamara. "Every game is a big game for us, just like Seton Hall was a big game for us last week."
Added quarterback Amir Hall: "It's just the next game on the schedule for us and we won't make it bigger than it has to be," he said. "As long as we prepare at a high level, we'll be okay."
Hall, a prolific passer, had 361 yards and five touchdowns passing and one rushing in their 48-7 win over Seton Hill last week.
"We had a real good opening game," Wilson said according to the
Winston-Salem Journal. "We know it gets tougher this week heading to Winston to play. I like where our confidence level is right now."
Winston-Salem State is coming off an impressive win 34-31 win over 19th ranked Division II team UNC-Pembroke. Kerrion Moore had a huge day on the ground for WSSU, rushing for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
Rams defensive end Justice Smith didn't downplay the importance of the game in the same article.
"I think the outcome of this game will dictate how the season will go," said Smith, who added WSSU has an advantage over BSU after winning their past two meetings. "If we win, it will open things for us even though it's not a CIAA game. We can make a statement in the league."
Tuskegee - Albany State
For an early season Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game, this one couldn't be any bigger.
Tuskegee, the top team in the ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT HBCU Division II Top Ten this week, is ranked among the top 25 Division II teams in the country, as is Albany State.
Tuskegee defeated FCS Alabama State while Albany State knocked off previously nationally-ranked Valdosta State. Tuskegee has beaten ASU five times in a row and new Albany State head coach Gabe Giardina has quickly found out why this game, the Whitewater Classic, is so important.
"I get educated almost weekly about how important this rivalry is from our alumni," Giardina told the
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. "It's a game I think most folks really earmark on their calendars. It's not hard to figure out who the big rivalry games are on our schedule."
What Tuskegee head coach Willie Slater will have to do is figure out exactly what Giradina's team will do offensively. He only has one game to work with - last week's - as Giardina, an offensive-minded coach, is taking over a defensive-minded program.
Kickoff in Phenix City is 5 p.m.
Here are previews of EVERY HBCU football game schedule for today:
CIAA
St. Augustine's at Carson-Newman - Carson-Newman, perennially one of the better Division II football programs, has won the three meetings between these two schools, the last two convincingly. The two teams had distinctly different results last week. Carson-Newman's Antonio Wimbush rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns as CN gained 306 yards on the ground in routing Pikeville 48-7. SAU couldn't get on the board in their 49-0 loss to Catawba, a team that had 516 yards of total offense last Saturday. SAU did get a big rushing day from Josh Glisson, who ran for 110 yards.
Livingstone at Kentucky Wesleyan - Both of these teams had opening day losses, though Kentucky Wesleyan was completely out-manned by FCS Murray State. They only mustered 30 yards rushing last week, but have an experienced, but small, running back in 5' 8" 170-pound Dylan Byrd. Livingstone will have Thaddeus Bell at quarterback this week, subbing for Xavier Longerbeam who was injured midway through last week's 28-15 loss to Benedict. Running back Jarius Richardson, who rushed for 70 yards last week, will ease some of the pressure on Bell, who played a lot last season.
UNC-Pembroke at Elizabeth City State - UNC Pembroke continues the heavily CIAA-portioned part of their schedule at ECSU. Last week, the then-19th ranked Braves fell 34-31 at Winston-Salem State. They started a redshirt freshman quarterback in Dominick Samson, who got a rough first start against one of the better teams in the nation. Saturday, they get an ECSU team that after falling behind to Central State last week, capitalized on CSU mistakes and made some big plays to outscore the Marauders 34-9 to get the win. Daquan Neal was solid at quarterback, throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a score. But this isn't Central State and UNC-Pembroke is aching to get back on the field.
Chowan at Delta State - Delta State shouldn't take Chowan lightly. The Hawks had the CIAA's rookie of the week in quarterback Bryce Witt, who threw for 257 yards and three TDs in their 24-21 loss to Fayetteville State, and Tyrell Freeman rushed for 166 yards. Delta State, sitting just outside of the national Division II Top 25 poll, started the season with a good win over Tarleton State. They rushed for 208 yards, 105 of that from sophomore Chris Robinson. This is the first meeting of these two schools.
Virginia State at Johnson C. Smith
Newberry at Virginia Union
Wingate at Fayetteville State
MEAC
Shaw at North Carolina Central - North Carolina Central drops down to Division II competition action after getting blown out by FBS ACC Duke last week. They get a Shaw team that gave up 328 yards passing in their loss to New Haven last week. Quarterback Daron Downing and wide receiver Trevante Long had a big day as Long caught five passes for 121 yards. North Carolina Central's new quarterback Micah Zanders completed 10-of-17 passes against Duke and will have a much easier defense to deal with this week. NCCU is 5-0 against CIAA teams since they moved to the FCS MEAC in 2011.
Albany at Morgan State - A top-25 FCS team, Albany fell to FBS Old Dominion 31-17 in the rain in a game where they were competitive. Albany freshman running back Karl Mofor looked good, rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown. Their defense gave up less than 100 yards rushing to ODU. Morgan State could never get their offense going last week, losing 10-0 against Towson. But the defense - they only allowed 17 yards rushing and 85 passing. Brandon Griffin had eight tackles, a sack and an interception.
Savannah State at Appalachian State - Savannah State is finally getting on the field after an open date a week ago. But will they? Savannah and that part of the Georgia coast may be a target of Hurricane Irma. If the game is played, Savannah State is looking to build on a promising second-half of 2016. They return eight starters on offense, including quarterback T.J. Bell, and eight starters on defense. Appy State is an FBS team that a few years ago beat Michigan at Michigan and last year nearly upset Tennessee at Tennessee. They lost 31-10 at Georgia last week, so they are already battle-tested against another top-notch opponent.
Howard at Kent State - Can lightening strike again? Howard's historic upset of UNLV (if you haven't heard, they had the biggest upset, point-spread wise, ever) as 45-point underdogs has caused a buzz at The Mecca. The center of that - quarterback Caylin Newton. FBS Kent State won't be surprised as they've seen what Newton/Howard did. They were completely overwhelmed in a rout by defending FBS champs Clemson last week, so they will be looking forward to playing someone more in their league. But are they? They used four quarterbacks last season and struggled mightily on offense all season.
Mars Hill at North Carolina A&T - The Aggies, ranked among the nation's Top 25 FCS teams, had no problem with Gardner-Webb last week. Quarterback Lamar Raynard threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns, while the North Carolina A&T defense didn't allow Gardner-Webb to cross midfield until the fourth quarter. Division II Mars Hill won easy over Shorter last week, but face a much stiffer challenge. David Salmon threw for 257 yards and three TDs, but they did give up 322 yards of offense to Shorter, most of it through the air.
Charleston Southern at South Carolina State - GAME CANCELLED BECAUSE OF PENDING HURRICANE IRMA
William & Mary at Norfolk State - William and Mary played FBS ACC Virginia tough last week, They had three players with double-digit tackle totals, while quarterback Tommy McKee, in his first start, had 152 yards of total offense and a touchdown for the Tribe. They had three sacks, but gave up three touchdown passes. Norfolk State was solid against the pass, but gave up 145 yards rushing to Trenton Cannon of Virginia State in their loss to a really good VSU team. They also only had 98 yards rushing, which they will need more if they want to surprise William & Mary.
Bethune-Cookman at Southeastern Louisiana - FCS ACC Miami (Fla) completely overwhelmed Bethune-Cookman last week, though they did manage 350 yards of offense. Southeastern Louisiana scored 48 points and had 514 yards of offense (343 rushing) last week. But they lost 51-48 to Louisiana-Lafayette. Eugene Bethea had 187 yards and two touchdowns rushing for SLU.
SIAC
Kentucky State at McKendree
Miles at West Georgia
Lane at Morehouse - Morehouse (0-1), and their revamped offense, jumped out to a 10-0 lead on FCS SWAC Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week, only to make second-half mistakes and suffer from a rash of cramps to their offensive leaders in losing 23-10. This week, they don't expect such problems. Lane had an easy time with NAIA Texas College in defeating them 40-20, running for 328 yards total, with Marcus Holiday rushing for 148. Quarterback Marcus Reynolds had 142 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. They will have a much tougher time with a solid Morehouse defense.
Central State at Clark Atlanta - The SIAC's preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Johnathon McCrary, didn't waste time getting 2017 started. He was named the SIAC's Offensive Player of the Week after throwing two TDs and running for two more in last week's Clark Atlanta (1-0) win. They had trouble stopping the run last week, giving up 224 yards on the day. Central State's Trent Mays threw two TDs and ran for another in their loss to Elizabeth City State. The Marauders led by 14 before miscues helped ECSU outscore Central State 34-9 to get the win. CAU won this match-up last year.
Fort Valley State at Valdosta State - GAME CANCELLED DUE TO HURRICANE IRMA
Limestone at Benedict
SWAC
Alabama A&M at Vanderbilt - Alabama A&M goes up I-65 to take on SEC Vanderbilt in game between two schools that have never played each other but are only 120 miles apart. The reason - Vanderbilt is a much bigger program in the SEC, though they have been a traditional doormat that can't afford to lose to a not-so-powerful FCS SWAC team. But Vandy is a program on the upswing and have already defeated neighboring school, Middle Tennessee State 28-6. Quarterback Kyle Shumur threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns in an easy victory. Alabama A&M relies on All-SWAC rusher Jordan Bentley and a defense that returns eight starters. But that defense gave up 38 to UAB, a program that hadn't played a game since 2014
Alabama State at Troy - Game two of Alabama State's march through Alabama is today when they face FBS Troy. ASU fell to Division II Tuskegee in a tough defensive game, but also a game where their offense just couldn't get into the end zone, though they did manage 400 yards of offense. They were led by freshman Kobie Jones who threw for 173 yards and a touchdown and ran for 46 yards. Troy's offense wasn't much more successful last week, garnering only 13 points, but losing only 24-13 to FBS Boise State on the road. They played good defense against an offensive-minded program, so this could be a tough day for Alabama State.
Alcorn State at Florida International
Mississippi Valley State at Southern Illinois
Northwestern State at Grambling - Grambling will be looking to shake off a bad loss at Tulane when nothing clicked for the reigning HBCU national champs. Things got out of hand for both teams last week, actually. Northwestern State lost to Louisiana Tech 52-24, giving up three touchdowns late that took them out of the game. Three Demons passers combined for 256 yards and two touchdowns last week. Grambling will look to get quarterback Devante Kincaide and the rest of the Tigers offense rolling after struggling last week. It could doable - Northwestern State gave up nearly 500 yards of offense against Lousiana Tech.
Southern at Southern Miss - Southern Miss head coach Jay Hopson is familiar with Southern - he played them while he was head coach at Alcorn State a couple of years ago. Southern got a win over a tough South Carolina State team that plays great defense, but they will look to get their offense going. Southern Miss played well enough to beat SEC Kentucky last week, but was doomed by turnovers. Kwadra Griggs, who played most of the second half for Southern Miss last week, will get his first start today.
Tennessee State vs. Jackson State - This is a long-time rivalry game on neutral turf in Memphis, Tenn., but these two teams are already heading in opposite directions. The ADD'S HBCU SPORTS REPORT No. 1 FCS HBCU team in the nation, Tennessee State, surprised FBS Georgia State last week and is looking to show that was hardly a fluke and this a team, led by quarterback Treon Harris, that will be a contender. Let's call this the first game of the season for Jackson State. You can't count their 63-0 loss to FCS Big 12 TCU who was totally over JSU's heads. Jackson State has lost five straight games and five straight to TSU in this Southern Heritage Classic. Look for Jordan Johnson and to try to run on a tough TSU defense that stymied Georgia State. JSU does feature one of the nation's top defenders in Keontre Anderson, the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Akron
OTHERS
Lincoln (Pa) at Lincoln (Mo) -
Texas College at Hardin-Simmons
Langston at Lyon - Langston will have a stronger challenge in Lyon, a team that is 1-1 and has scored 28 points in both games. The question is which Lyon defense will show up - the one that only allowed seven points in their opener or the one that gave up 56 last week. Langston is a team that can score, which will concern Lyon. They were up 20-0 by halftime and cruised the rest of the way last week.
Edward Waters at Bluefield
